The NWA biopic, ‘Straight Outta Compton’, has a release date and a first-look picture courtesy of the collective’s most successful solo breakout artist, Dr Dre. He announced on Twitter that the Universal project will be released on 14 August 2015.

The film will tell the story of the seminal hip-hop group which was made up of Dr Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and the late Eazy E. Dr Dre and Eazy E will be played by newcomer actors Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell, while Ice Cube's son will take on the role of his father.

Straight Outta Compton cover

“Finally found the cast for the NWA movie. Me, Gary Gray, Dre w/ Cube, Eazy & Dre #StraightOuttaCompton coming 8/14/15,” tweeted Ice Cube, following up Dr. Dre’s initial Tweet. Cube also included the cast photo. 

The official synopsis for the film reads: "In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country.  When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation.  Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war."

N.W.A - an abbreviation of Niggaz Wit Attitudes – disbanded in 1991, leaving members like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube to go on and forge hugely successful solo careers. But the group’s influence, from their use of funk beats and bass-heavy riffs to underlay their hard-hitting lyrics left an indelible mark on the hip-hop landscape.